Things change but things remain Stagnant too ... where they were :::: World is a Globe in Transition -- Are we in 2026 and beyond in a world of Strongest countries but under 'weakest leaders' ???

Some old habits never die. In India's neighbourhood is Pakistan. 

It's like the traditional communists and Indian Sickularism. They are guided by a killing syndrome - we cannot be wrong. 

So the argument goes ... if we go wrong ..... or have done or said something erroneous in the past; we have to justify the lapses and make these appear as virtues and even achievements.   

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed that the Nur Khan Air Base, located in Rawalpindi’s Chakala area, was hit by Indian missiles during Operation Sindoor. 

He admitted that the attack resulted in damage to the base and injuries among the personnel stationed there.

"They (India) send drones towards Pakistan. In 36 hours, at least 80 drones were sent... We were able to intercept 79 drones out of 80, and only one drone damaged a military installation and personnel were also injured in the attack," he said. Even if the claims of 79 is old Islamabad style - he could have said these much before. But that's the diseases and patients survive. 

We include Pakistan, Indian Sickularism and communists in all that. 

India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan have a complex, intertwined relationship marked by historical ties, strategic competition, and ongoing tensions. Let us focus on three elements --  

The Taliban government seeks to diversify trade and diplomacy, looking to India, Iran, and Turkey to counter Pakistani influence. 

India has invested heavily in Afghan infrastructure including dams, roads, etc and expanded humanitarian aid building goodwill even after the Taliban takeover. The theory is 'Enemy's Enemy .. can be a strategic flagbearer of Dosti'. 

Pakistan has preferred to seek strategic depth in Afghanistan, viewing it as a buffer against India. In fact, Pakistan’s first military ruler, Ayub Khan, wanted to create a religion-based federation with Afghanistan. He even proposed a confederation of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey.

This never started well; forget about counterbalancing India. 

In its annual report the American think tank 'Council on Foreign Relations' (CFR) said Pakistan could face armed conflict with Taliban-led Afghanistan in 2026 and beyond.

Of course; CFR has done a little bit of Washington's pitch and said even India and Pakistan could slide into another military confrontation in 2026. While India will be on guard; on the other hand - Pakistan is yet to recover from the fallout of May war of 2025.  

The Pakistani minister Dar has only shared his country's bigger concerns by admitting the hit on the crucial base. Indian sources have claimed the damage was much bigger. China's commercial interests were harmed and the US might have lost many things crucial and hence Trump had take Munir on his lap. 

How much that gave any cushion to Pakistan remains to be seen. 

Both Pakistan and the Deep State may get another strategic shocker if the puppet Yunus has to leave Dhaka empty handed once Feb 12 elections are over.  New Delhi has tried to open ties with the BNP and apparently people of Bangladesh are not against having Tarique Rahman as their next Prime Minister. 

But the key aspects of the debate now is what is happening around the new found bonhomie between New Delhi and Kabul.  

** For India, dealing with Afghanistan’s present rulers Taliban is essential and not out of love. But this remains a careful balancing act. 

In October 2025; India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar termed cross-border terrorism as a "menace" and called Afghanistan as a "contiguous" neighbour of India. This was a strong and key message to Pakistan over its illegal occupation in Jammu and Kashmir.  

Engagement with Taliban leadership by India is not guided by any moral compass.  

We may also take a closer look at facts that -- 

** Pakistan witnessed a sharp 73 per cent rise in conflict-related deaths in 2025.

This was an inhouse finding by a Pakistani organisation itself.

The report highlighted that the attacks have intensified in scale and frequency with militant strikes soaring to the highest level between 2014 and 2025.  

As many as 664 security personnel died in 2025 in Pakistan -- means a steep rise of 26 per cent compared to 528 in 2024. 

The year also recorded the highest armed forces deaths since 2011, when 677 armed forces personnel lost their lives. 

In December 2018 when Imran Khan was Prime Minister; Islamabad had said that India’s cooperation would be needed for bringing peace to war-ravaged Afghanistan. 

How much things have remained where they were or things have altered much ?  

Pakistani army chief, Gen Asim Munir heaped blame on India for the armed struggle in Balochistan.

This demonstrated Islamabad's utter frustration. “Indian-sponsored proxies continue to propagate violence and disrupt development in Balochistan," he said.

Pakistan also announced that all militant organisations operating in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and parts of Balochistan region will be collectively labelled “Fitna-al-Hindustan” -- roughly translated as India’s mischief.

Good wishes. 

ends 

2026 ... Turmoil not in Korea or in Middle East :::: US captures Venezuelan president Maduro and wife during ‘large-scale’ attack and says he will face criminal charges

US captures Venezuelan president Maduro during ‘large-scale’ attack and says he will face criminal charges

US President Donald Trump on Saturday claimed that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife have been captured by US forces following what he described as "large-scale airstrikes" on Caracas. 

Trump's assertion came hours after several explosions rocked the Venezuelan capital, plunging the country into uncertainty.

In a post on his Truth Social, President Trump said the United States had "successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader", adding that 

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken into custody and flown out of the country in an operation conducted alongside US law enforcement agencies.  

Trump’s unprecedented capture of Nicolás Maduro follows months of military campaign and years of strained relationship  

The stunning attack and unprecedented capture of a sitting president follow months of an intense US pressure campaign against Venezuela. Since September, the US navy has amassed a huge fleet off the Venezuelan coast and carried out airstrikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific and seized Venezuelan oil tankers. 

At least 110 people have been killed in the strikes on boats, which human rights groups say could amount to war crimes.

Venezuelan officials have accused the US of trying to gain access to the country’s oil reserves, the largest in the world.

The bombardment of Venezuela and the capture of Maduro is a serious and dramatic escalation of the US campaign. The future of Venezuela’s ruling regime remains uncertain.

Maduro was captured early Saturday by members of Delta Force, the US military’s elite special mission unit, US officials were quoted as saying by CBS News. The officials said the operation took place in the early morning hours, though no further details were released publicly.

Delta Force had previously carried out the 2019 raid that killed former Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

There was no independent confirmation of Maduro’s capture, and Venezuelan officials did not acknowledge Trump’s claim.  

Trump’s administration declared Venezuelan gangs such as Tren de Aragua as terrorist organisations and began carrying out airstrikes against alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean sea. Soon, the US began to seize Venezuelan tankers and build up its military presence in the waters surrounding the South American country.

Trump has openly flirted with the idea of regime change in Venezuela. In late November, Trump gave Maduro an ultimatum to relinquish power, offering him safe passage out of the country. Maduro refused the offer, telling supporters in Venezuela that he did not want “a slave’s peace” and accusing the US of wanting control of his country’s oil reserves.

As the Trump administration ratcheted up the pressure, the government in Caracas at times seemed bewildered. 

Maduro repeatedly said Venezuela did not want war with the US, at one point dancing in front of Venezuelan students to the lyrics, “no war, yes peace” and mimicking Trump’s double-fist pumping dance move. 

On Thursday, two days before his capture, Maduro said in a televised interview he would welcome US investment in the country’s oil sector.

ends 

Viksit Bharat .... 2047 - A target :::: In 2025 .... India has emerged a key player ..... ::: Nearly 36 years back in 1989 .... India was tagged as 'Superpower Rising' ::: American interest in Asia can be linked to India's enlightened vision as well

In 1989; internationally acclaimed 'Time' magazine ran an article under the title 'Superpower Rising'.  

It spoke about India as the strongest country in the subcontinent. Prior to that Rajiv Gandhi stalled a coup in the Maldives. President Ronald Regan was impressed and he called it "a valuable contribution to regional stability".  

Things have moved a lot since then. India's growing military strength is noted today. We may also refer that in 1988-89; experts such as Selig Harrison of the Carnegie Foundation had suggested that the US leadership should accept the realities of South Asia and abandon its special relationship with Pakistan. 

He was more specific as he had said -- "We should get out of India's way ..... ".  Islamabad was fortunate that Washington for years since then kept banking on it in their struggle against Soviet Union initially and then the so-called terrorism.

In late eighties Pakistan also had maintained that "... India's role as a regional policeman has been sanctioned by the US". 

It was a sort of backhanded compliment. But there were some hiccups. 

A 'policeman' normally has bosses and senior police officers and other superiors as part of the hierarchy. New Delhi understood it well that such hierarchies have their own logic, working style and also limitations. 

Even on this score some continuity remains. 

A rising India is not necessarily a problem area for the US. 

It only wants that Washington has a larger say when it comes to diplomacy and security issues vis-a-vis India's role in South Asia.  

But as a self-respecting nation and with a mind of its own India is preferring to be independent and self-reliant on their own terms. This is all the more crucial in the times of Narendra Modi. 

Hence an irked US administration is what we saw in 2025 vis-a-vis trade policies. The hiccups in Indo-US ties are therefore not unexpected. To be America's ally ... would appeal to some Indians. It did so in the 1990s. Probably it still does. 

However, the geopolitical reality suggests; India has to be more alert about any hidden agenda of the US authorities. 

Was the US under Joe Biden more pro-Pakistan ?  We need to take a closer view why even Donald Trump is trying to be friendly or giving more patronage to Islamabad. 

Come to think of it; Americans always have a mindset ... under which the US leads and the allies follow. Read through some old pages. In 1991 (March 8th); Flora Lewis wrote in the 'International Herald Tribune' that --  

"Some Americans carried away with the speed and the extent of military success, concluded that  ... the US can be and should be the world's policeman". Leap back to 2025-26 - the so-called today's world. But it is also seen as the post-US (or post-West).  

This is an era wherein the RIC is a formidable force and BRICS actually redefines so much about foreign policies. 

India, Russia and China are key players in both. This leaves the west unnerved. They do not know how to reconcile to these emerging situations.  Therefore, what we find -- the objectives and larger implications of Oil Politics are both global and local. The world has lived through --- liberation/annexation of Kuwait and also conquest of Iraq. But we should not forget ... certain other aspects too. 

The world has also lived through -- an Anglo-American war against Saddam (as was described in Newsweek in Jan 1991).

Around the same time - old timers may recall what analysts spoke and debated the 'holy war' between the Christian west and Muslims everywhere. 

Now see the twist in the tale -- New York's new mayor is taking up explicit pro-Muslim (or Islamic role) agenda. So much 'deep' is the game that he is also talking about an Indian student Umar Khalid - cooling his heels behind bars. 

Having said all that; the realism suggests the importance of Indo-US ties cannot be neglected. 

It is crucial that India's (read Moditva's) own enlightened self-interest can actually co-exist with an active American interest in South Asia. 

 

The evolving scenarios in Bangladesh and Myanmar - therefore - deserve much closer studies than being attempted so far. 

ends

Crowds do not win polls ... and more so in a country like Bangladesh :::: Anxiety persists .... India has extended an olive branch to BNP ::::: Diplomacy is not about nostalgia— it is all about necessity

Crowds alone do not win elections, they may reveal momentum and mood. 
Hence, anxiety now persists. Can Yunus and his Deep State masters sabotage BNP's return to power ?  

PM Narendra Modi Signals ‘New Beginning’ with Dhaka with BNP Hedge 

The Prime Minister's outreach to Tarique Rahman of BNP and Dr S Jaishankar’s Dhaka visit signal a recalibration in India–Bangladesh ties.  

Namo's expression of hope for a “new beginning” in India–Bangladesh relations is neither rhetorical nor routine. It is a calibrated diplomatic signal—issued at a moment when Dhaka’s political future appears poised for a decisive shift.

The massive turnout at Khaleda Zia’s funeral in Dhaka—drawing people from all walks of life—has triggered serious political speculation: that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) may be heading for a convincing victory in the February 12 elections, provided they are held on schedule and power transitions smoothly.

India’s Neighbourhood First Policy, anchored in civilisational ties and pragmatic diplomacy, has long treated Bangladesh as a priority partner. But New Delhi’s comfort level has clearly frayed in recent months—especially amid signals that sections of Dhaka’s interim establishment are attempting to reopen channels with Pakistan, while appearing to downplay the historical trauma of the 1971 genocide.

It is in this context that India’s decision to send External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to Dhaka for a tightly timed four-hour visit—and PM Modi’s personal letter to Tarique Rahman, widely seen as the Prime Minister-in-waiting—assumes significance.

“I am confident that her ideals will be carried forward under your able leadership,” Modi wrote, expressing hope that Khaleda Zia’s legacy would guide a renewed partnership between India and Bangladesh.

The subtext was unmistakable: India is hedging its bets, preparing for a post-Hasina political order.

While elections are formally scheduled for February 12, uncertainty lingers over whether interim leader Muhammad Yunus—widely viewed in Indian strategic circles as aligned with extra-constitutional power centres—will relinquish control smoothly. His recent remark that his role ends only “when a new government takes charge” has raised eyebrows.

New Delhi, however, could not afford strategic inertia. Years of diplomatic investment under Sheikh Hasina—in connectivity, security cooperation, and economic integration—cannot be allowed to dissipate without contingency planning. Hence, outreach to BNP represents what many Indian policymakers privately describe as the “monder bhalo” (lesser evil) option.

The political optics in Dhaka are shifting. The funeral congregation around the Jatiya Sangsad complex transformed grief into a show of political mobilisation. While crowds alone do not win elections, they do reveal momentum—and anxiety now persists only until the ballot boxes speak.

Crucially, Tarique Rahman has so far maintained restraint. Unlike earlier BNP regimes, his public posture has avoided overt anti-India rhetoric. At a moment when Bangladesh faces economic stress, trade disruptions, and deteriorating law and order, confrontation with India offers little electoral or economic dividend.

Indeed, Bangladeshi intellectual circles are showing signs of neo-pragmatism. Criticism of the Yunus regime is growing—over governance failures, eroding India ties, and economic losses, especially in textiles and cross-border trade.  

India’s message, implicit but firm, is simple: friends are protected; adversarial posturing carries costs. History shows that PM Modi is willing to go to great lengths to secure the interests of reliable partners.

Yet caution remains warranted. The BNP’s past record—marked by warmer ties with Pakistan and China and strained engagement with India—cannot be wished away. History, geography, and political memory will shape the next phase of bilateral relations.

Still, diplomacy is not about nostalgia—it is about necessity, vision, and realism.

If elections proceed as scheduled and power changes hands peacefully, mid-February 2026 could mark a genuine inflection point in India–Bangladesh relations. Whether this becomes a reset—or a relapse—will depend on choices made in Dhaka as much as signals sent from New Delhi.

For now, India has extended an olive branch. The region will soon know whether it finds a willing hand.

Blogger 

ends 

2026: Why West Bengal May Decide India’s Political Future :::: "2026 is being framed as last chance for course correction"

As BJP shifts from personality attacks to demographics, infiltration, and governance, West Bengal’s 2026 election is emerging as a national inflection point with consequences far beyond the state.  

Strikingly, the BJP has kept a deliberate distance from temple–mosque polarisation, calling it a TMC problem and refusing to let the BJP’s core campaign themes be diluted.

On the economic front, Home Minister Amit Shah cited what he called Bengal’s dramatic decline. Once, when India’s per capita income stood at ₹100, Bengal’s was ₹127. Today, he claimed, it has fallen to ₹73 against a national ₹100, pushing the state below the national average.

Whether these claims withstand statistical scrutiny or not, the political message is unmistakable: Bengal has fallen behind—and 2026 is being framed as its last chance for course correction. 

Bengal has fallen behind—and 2026 is being framed as its last chance for course correction. 

The political message is unmistakable.

 Wheels are turning within wheels in Indian politics—and 2026 may well emerge as the ‘Year of the West Bengal polls.’ 

What is unfolding in the state is no longer being projected as a routine electoral contest, but as a high-stakes ideological and demographic confrontation with national implications.

“This is not just a political battle for us,” B L Santhosh, BJP General Secretary (Organisation), has declared. “It is a civilisational battle. To save India, we have to win Bengal.”

Santhosh has repeatedly underlined what the BJP describes as a “serious demographic challenge” in West Bengal, arguing that prolonged Muslim appeasement politics has altered the state’s political and social dynamics. For the party, Bengal has become a test case—one that will draw nationwide attention and even international scrutiny. 

The concerns extend beyond rhetoric. West Bengal carries a long history of poll-related violence, raising persistent questions over whether genuine voters will be able to freely exercise their franchise. Equally pressing is whether the electoral process itself can unfold peacefully.

At the heart of the immediate political tension lies the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has warned that if SIR is not carried out “properly and to the satisfaction of the Election Commission,” the BJP will ensure that elections are not conducted at all.

The implication is stark: failure to hold elections by March–April 2026, at the end of the Assembly’s five-year term, would constitutionally necessitate President’s Rule—effectively ending Mamata Banerjee’s tenure.

Sensing the scale of the battle, BJP’s chief poll strategist Amit Shah has already begun extensive tours of the state. At a media interaction on December 30, the Union Home Minister made clear that illegal infiltration would dominate the BJP’s campaign.  

“If we come to power in West Bengal in 2026, our first task will not only be to stop illegal infiltration but to drive out illegal infiltrators currently residing in the state,” Shah said.

He also questioned why West Bengal alone resists barbed fencing along the Bangladesh border, arguing that infiltration has become “not just a state problem, but a national one.”

Notably, the BJP has abandoned direct personal attacks on Mamata Banerjee this time—learning from 2021, when slogans like “Didi, Oh Didi” appeared to backfire and consolidate Trinamool Congress support.

Instead, the BJP’s 2026 focus is sharply defined: illegal infiltration, jobs, industrialisation, infrastructure, corruption, and women’s safety.

Ironically, it is Mamata Banerjee who has now resorted to personal barbs—likening Amit Shah to Dushashan from the Mahabharata and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Shakuni. Shah has countered this shift by questioning the timing of her newly discovered temple politics, suggesting it has come “far too late in the day.”  

The Home Minister has also trained his guns on corruption—from chit fund scams and school-job scandals to coal and cattle smuggling—noting that several senior TMC leaders are already behind bars.

On women’s safety, Shah struck a particularly raw nerve: “From R.G. Kar Medical College to South Kolkata Law College and Sandeshkhali, women in West Bengal are not safe anywhere. Mamata Banerjee owes the people an explanation.”

For the BJP, Bengal also carries symbolic weight. Party founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee hailed from the state—making a Bengal victory not just electoral, but ideological redemption.

Meanwhile, a new political churn appears underway within the Muslim electorate itself. For the first time in years, it no longer looks monolithic. Suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir’s launch of the Janata Unnayan Party—and his controversial foundation-laying for a Babri Masjid in Murshidabad—signals internal fragmentation that could upend existing vote banks.

ends 

Where is Iran heading once again ? ::: Is this true .. Israeli media is alleged have filmed crowds and use "AI technology" to superimpose anti-government chants ??? :::::: After 9/11, Iran co-operated with US

Jan 2, 2026 --  Accusing Donald Trump of engaging in what it said "adventurism," Iran has now asked Americans to "watch over their soldiers."

BBC snap 

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran on 1 February 1979 after 15 years of exile. That marked a new chapter in Iran and Middle East.  

"The monarchy will be eradicated .... There are aspects of life under the present corrupt form of government in Iran which will have to be changed... Drugs such as alcoholic beverages will be prohibited," Khomeini told BBC's John Simpson in 1979. 

The spiritual leader also had said - "We are hostile to foreign governments which have forced the Shah on Iran."  

More than 90% of Iran's Muslims are Shia, and back in 1979 the ousting of the shah by Shia Islamist revolutionaries shocked and electrified the Islamic world.

Shia in countries like Lebanon and parts of the Gulf stopped accepting that they were at the bottom of the social and political pile, and demanded more say.

In 1979 Islamic militants took 52 Americans hostage inside the US embassy

Sunnis in the region were deeply worried, yet they too were fascinated by the overthrow of a leader backed by the West.The Americans were humiliated, and no-one in the Middle East would forget it. Between 1980 and 1988 Iran was caught up in a savage war against Iraq, and it was obsessed with the need to survive.

After many years now;  questions are now arising as to whether members of the “hard base”—which make up the foot soldiers of the suppressive apparatus—will continue to defend the regime if unrest sets in.

Such questions have already invoked panic across the senior oligarchy of the Islamic Republic, who know all too well that it was the demoralization and, ultimately, the abandonment of dictator Bashar al-Assad’s suppressive forces that resulted in the collapse of the Baathist regime in Syria.  

As the new year has commenced; US president Donald Trump shot off a warning to Khamenei --  

"If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go."

As reports of chants calling for the death of Iran's Supreme Leader and for the return of the exiled leader to the US began circulating, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s representative in Iran’s Razavi Khorasan province, Ahmad Alamolhoda, dismissed the developments as fabricated using artificial intelligence.

Alamolhoda alleged that Israeli media and what he called "enemy-affiliated outlets" filmed crowds and then used AI technology to superimpose anti-government chants onto the visuals.  

He said the aim was to create the impression that Iranians have turned against the Islamic Revolution and want the system to collapse.

Along with chants of "Mullahs must leave Iran", the slogan of "Javid Shah", meaning "long live the Shah", was raised by the protestors.

"Iranians know US 'rescue' record well, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Gaza. Any intervening hand-nearing Iran Security on pretexts will be cut off with a Regret Inducing Response. 

Iran’s national security is a Red Line, not material for adventurist tweets," said ... Ali Shamkhani, a senior aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader.  

Paradox of changes :::   

After 2003, when the US invaded Iraq and destroyed the power of the minority Sunnis, Iraq's Shia majority began to dominate the country with the strong support of Iran.

Iran became a regional superpower - courtesy of President George W Bush. The irony could scarcely have been greater. Israel and US President Donald Trump's administration see Iran as a major threat.

However; the United Kingdom and the European Union see things differently.

President Jimmy Carter welcomed the shah to the White House in 1977

(BBC snap) 

  

***

Iran appears a lot more easy-going than most outsiders imagine.

The rules about women's dress are sometimes enforced harshly, but the Islamic Republic has never clamped down on women's freedom of movement in the way you see routinely in Saudi Arabia with its male guardianship system.

***

The US Marine barracks bombing in Beirut left 299 American and French troops dead

Additional info :

The arrival at the White House of George W Bush in 2001 brought hardliners into the ascendant in the US too.

After 9/11, Iran co-operated with the US against their mutual Taliban foes in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Khatami was rewarded by having his country dubbed part of the "Axis of Evil" by Mr Bush in January 2002.

Later that year, Iran's secret nuclear programme suddenly broke into the limelight, revealed by exiles from the Mujahideen-e Khalq.

ends 

Study in comparison and contrast ::: Why 'Reality checks' can defeat and show parties such as AAP, AGP in India and NCP in Bangladesh their real place

If a political party appears uncertain about its own journey, goals and unwilling to clarify certain questions; it dents confidence. It gives rise to suspicion and would be easily dumped.  

The Aam Admi Party (AAP)  -- Common People's Party - victory in Delhi in 2015 and 2020 actually demonstrated the victory of the ‘civil society’ in taking up roles of governance. 

Historically, this was not a new phenomenon for northeast. Assam had witnessed the emergence of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the landslide victory in 1986. Youth organizations in other northeastern states like Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram are not only influential, they also command tremendous respect. The Young Mizo Association is one such body.

In Bangladesh, students' protest in July-Aug 2024 that ultimately led to the ouster of Sheikh Hasina created ground for creation of New Citizens' Party (NCP).

Elections in Bangladesh are round the corner. 

But people are asking ... What exactly is the NCP for? What principles guide its policy positions, alliances, and internal decisions? 

The party lacks a clear, publicly articulated manifesto. 

"This is not a messaging problem. It is a failure of political self-definition," says a piece in Dhaka's 'The Daily Star'. 

What's important at the next stage is performance angle? In Assam; the AGP Govt's performance was lacklustre to speak the least. 

Young ministers -- out of college hostels - were now in the Secretariat and they started fighting over their ministerial chambers; airy rooms, AC and such amenities. Governance never received priorities. This was the period; the ULFA revived -- first their Robinhood image - killing and robbing the rich to help the poor. Then they started issuing diktats - against alcoholism, drunkard husbands, economic exploiters - Tea garden managers and Marwari and other non-local businessmen. 

Slowly - the violence cult swallowed the state and that compelled the then Chandrashekhar Govt supported by Congress to dismiss Mahanta Govt, impose President's Rule and ban ULFA.

Governance was never a priority for Arvind Kejriwal and his AAP dispensation. Sign boards started coming out.

Sitting in chief minister's chamber; he dreamt of taking on Narendra Modi - the Prime Minister. He became personal in attacking Modi. And he started drawing so on daily basis. Hoardings screamed and a real-estate smart move racket was called Mohalla Clinics. 

There were immense encouragements from abroad. Foreign assistance was liberal and Indian 'sickular' media thought they should also project Kejriwal as bigger than life. The fact of the matter was his was a government (under a chief minister) which was at best a municipal body.

Ultimately; people suffered. Cleam Yamuna figured in Delhi's media only after Kejriwal was voted out in 2025. Hence to be much optimistic about so-called Revolution or Citizens' government(s) is something that does not work.  

Hence, little wonder -- it did not work in Bangladesh as well. 

For NCP in Dhaka; native analysts say a party that remains largely socially isolated cannot plausibly claim to represent the public.

As a result; 'grand dad' Yunus remains a frustrated puppet. He probably does not know -- how to look for an exit route. Should he flee ? 

Should he go back to the Deep State empty handed ?

Bengali intellectuals in Dhaka say - Yunus's position is like Dr Manmohan Singh in UPA era in India.

"Chhere de maa ... kende bachi (translation; Leave me alone my mom; let me go out and cry somewhere in that corner).

Means - Give me a respectable escape route. I have nothing to be blamed about this chaos. 

Politically; the NCP has failed to offer any sustained pro-people programme that explains what it stands for.

The NCP leaders may still be clueless on how to govern differently - a promise they had made.

In the case of AGP -- joining politics was a career option for many young talented Assamese youths. Late Dinesh Goswami (who became Law Minister under V P Singh) was one of them.

In the case of AAP; the same logic applied for many youngsters who gave up corporate jobs and thought -- "an alternative job avenue and Govt's fat salary and other perks and extra Halwa-puri too was available".

Service to the people and governance was never an area of focus.

The same problem haunts NCP in Bangladesh. 

Even after formally constituting itself as a political party, its leadership has remained disproportionately engaged on university campuses and with foreign delegates, rather than systematically building grassroots connections. 

There is another phenomenon about NCP and so common about AAP in New Delhi.

Most citizens in Dhaka or other places reportedly identify NCP leaders only with a handful of prominent figures. In AA{'s case - Kejriwal tweeted daily about 'Hitler' style of Modi .. but it was his Delhi-wallah hooligans who kicked out Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav from a closed door AAP meeting. 

A few years later even one Delhi chief secretary said he was manhandled in presence of Kejriwal. Not to talk about his 'shahi palace'. 

And so much of democracy from Anna Hazare's disciple - when he was jailed on charges of corruption - the AAP had to nominated his wife to the throne.  

The same theories now apply to the NCP. People are talking about costly cars moving around in Dhaka.

As the 'Daily Star' piece suggests --- "Political trust arises from sustained clarity about ends, means, and limits. Ambiguity may offer short-term tactical advantages, but it is normatively corrosive".

Have we answered the simple question - What's common between AGP and AAP in India and the NCP in Bangladesh ?

ends